The Heart of Winter
by 24CaratCoal
Summary: One of my 'What if' stories. What if Naruto had run away at a young age to be found and raise by Momochi Zabuza? Find out. Rated M for mature language, violence and implications of sex. Initial pairing, NarutoXfemHaku. Smart Strong Naruto.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor do I make any money from the creation of this story.

Chapter Key

Chapter Number  
=#=

Scene Transitions

&  
*~*~*

Flashbacks-  
Beginning  
=( o )=

End  
=(__)=

"Spoken Words"

_'Personal thoughts'_

Warning: This story is intended for mature audiences only, there will be a lot of implications of sex- and possibly one or two lemon scenes in the future, I have yet to really decide- as well as graphic violence and foul language. This story is not meant for the eyes of children. I am in no way responsible if this story offends anyone's sensibilities, if you are offended by sex, violence or abrasive language, stop reading now and go find something else. Seriously. If none of those things offends you, please read and enjoy the story and hopefully tell me what you think when you are done.

* * *

=1=

Haku groaned in pleasure as Naruto's tongue ran along her collar bone, she loved the way he knew her body so very well- it wasn't surprising since they had been together almost every day and night for the last seven years. She always felt so happy every time she was near the younger blond, his jovial attitude was hopelessly infectious especially if a person knew how he had spent the first seven years of his life. She pulled his head closer to her body as he continued with the teasing licks and nips, jumping when she heard someone clear their throat from the doorway.::

"Every time." Naruto sighed into her neck. "What is it Zabuza?"

"There's been a complication, the demon brothers have failed." Zabuza said flatly. "We're going to take care of Tazuna ourselves."

"I still think we're going after the wrong person." The blond grunted as he straighted out Haku's kimono before turning around. "I'm telling you that Gato isn't trustworthy, he'll sell us out in an instant."

"Don't complain runt, Gato's the one who's been putting food in your belly for the last year." The rogue jounin growled.

"I'm well aware of that, that's why I check every meal for poison." He grunted. "Come on, if we're going to kill some helpless old guy let's just get it over with."

"I really hate that kid." Zabuza growled as the teenage blond left the room. "I wish he'd listen as well as you do Haku."

"He wouldn't be Naruto if he did Zabuza-san." Haku said respectfully. "He does raise a good point though, Gato will betray us- it's only a matter of time."

"That's why I hate him so much." The older man grumbled as they walked out of the room together. "What's with you two anyway? You get five minutes alone and you're both trying to go at it like a couple rabbits."

"It's a release Zabuza-san, if we don't do something to forget the things we've done and are going to do we could very easily break under the stress." She answered softly as she walked beside him. "Naruto-kun may be physically superior to anyone else our age, but inside he's still just a young boy."

"A young boy that's as strong as both of us combined." Zabuza grunted. "Stronger if something pisses him off badly enough, kid's like a freaking monster." He grunted when she punched his arm. "What was that for?"

"Don't call Naruto a monster." She said with a glare before her face faded back to it's normal placid look. "You remember when we first met him Zabuza-san."

"How could I forget, two broken legs and he still nearly ran me down." The jounin said with a smirk.

=( o )=

_Every fiber of Naruto's being was screaming in agony as he ran through the forest as fast as his broken body could move, no matter how much it hurt, the small blond didn't dare to stop running from the angered shouts that were chasing him. He could feel himself becoming weaker by the moment as blood dripped steadily from the wound in his arm created by his own protruding bone, all he needed was to rest in safety but they had been waiting at every entrance to the large fenced in forest he normally hid in while he healed. The ground gave way under his feet and he let out a startled cry as he tumbled down a small slope, he felt one of his last intact bones snap when he hit the ground but he couldn't let that stop his fear fueled mad dash for some place safe until he felt something suddenly grab the back of his ratty shirt and lift him off the ground.::_

_"Slow down there kid." Zabuza said in a gruff voice as he turned the blond around. "What the hell are you running from?"_

_"Let me go!" Naruto shouted before kicking the man in the side of the head, screaming in pain when it caused his broken bone to shift._

_"Either that scream means my head is harder than I ever realized, or your leg is broken." The jounin stated, lowering Naruto to the ground unusually gently. "How come you're so beat up brat?"_

_"D-don't hurt me." The blond said, pushing himself away from the man as soon as he sensed how much power he had suppressed . "Please, I didn't do anything."_

_"I don't hurt kids." He grunted, looking the direction where the kid had just come from when he heard the shouts._

_"This way!" One voice shouted, followed by several cries calling for the death of the monster._

_"Oh god, not again." Naruto whispered as he curled up into a ball._

_"Haku, defensive position." Zabuza ordered gruffly as he removed his massive sword from his back._

_"Yes, Zabuza-san." The eight year old said, moving in front of the blond as she armed herself with a couple senbon._

_"There it is!" Someone shouted as a relatively large mob emerged from the woods._

_"Hey, you, get out of the way." A pale man wearing a Leaf forehead protector ordered when he saw Zabuza standing in their path. "This is between us and that monster behind you."_

_"Monster?" Zabuza repeated, looking back at the cowering boy behind Haku before turning his attention back to the guy- probably a recently graduated chuunin by the rogue's guess. "There's no monster behind me, but I see a whole bunch of them right in front of me."_

_"Listen, friend, get out of the way, or we're going to go straight through you." The man said with venom obvious in his voice. "We're going to finally kill that monster tonight, and there's no power in the world that can stop us."_

_"_That_, is where you're wrong." He stated plainly as he raised his free hand up to his mouth and his sword hand as high above his head as physically possible while a thick mist began to gather around all of them. _'Ninja Art: Obscuring Mist Technique.'

'They're protecting me?'_ Naruto wondered, watching his defenders as his vision started to blur from all the blood he had lost._

_"Don't worry." He heard a comforting voice say into his ear as his eyes closed. "Zabuza-san and I won't let anything happen to you."_

=(__)=

Naruto and Haku watched Zabuza's fight from a safe distance while the kept their chakras completely repressed and masked to match the surrounding flora. The blond could tell that Zabuza wouldn't win this fight against the copy ninja Hatake Kakashi, the sheer difference in the amount of chakra they had was going to completely overwhelm the missing-nin. Quietly he signaled his partner to go to plan B, kill Zabuza before he died. They pulled on their Oinin masks and moved into a better position as a massive ring of water formed in front of Kakashi, blasting Zabuza to the opposite side of the clearing and leaving a large gouge in the wake of the torrential explosion of water.::

"Yes, I can." They heard the scarecrow answerer Zabuza's question. "Your future is death."

Naruto teleported in front of the jounin and punched him hard enough in the stomach to nearly knock Kakashi out of the tree, shoving the taller man's head back to expose his neck for Haku before he could recover enough to make any form of protest.::

"You're right." Haku giggled after her needles lanced through their instructor's neck. "He's dead."

"Are you four alright?" Naruto asked, looking over at the genin surrounding and protecting Zabuza.

"Y-yeah." The white-haired boy directly in front of Tazuna said, swallowing slightly. "Who the hell are you people?"

"They're hunter-nin." Kakashi answered as he took his place between his team and Naruto. "From the Hidden Mist judging by their masks."

"You are correct, Hatake-san." Naruto anwered respectfully as he pulled the kunai and shuriken from Zabuza's body before tossing them on the ground between them. "Those are yours I believe."

"Yes, thank you." The jounin said calmly.

"We are the ones who should be thanking you." Haku said in her gentle tone as she appeared at Naruto's side. "We've been searching for the opportunity to kill Zabuza for quite some time."

"We must be going now, this body contains many secrets and must be disposed of." Naruto commented.

"Farewell." They both said at once as they disappeared with Zabuza's body.

"Does that seem right to you?" The white-haired boy asked as soon as the wind they used to cover their departure with died away. "You were fighting so hard against that Zabuza guy from the very beginning and those two just popped up out of nowhere and killed him... Just like that!"

"This sort of thing happens all the time Yuuma-kun." Kakashi said, looking down at his student. "There are kids in this worlds younger than you guys, and yet far stronger than me."

"Still, it doesn't seem fair at all, they made us look like idiots!" Yuuma growled as his teacher replaced his headband over his eye to spare his remaining chakra.

"It happens." He responded with a small chuckle to hide his real thoughts. _'Just who was that boy? He was standing right in front of me and I could barely even feel his chakra.'_

*~*~*

"Alright, let's cut away this mouth cloth to drain away some blood and..." Haku said quietly to herself as she reached toward Zabuza's face with a pair of razor edged sheers.

"That's alright..." Zabuza interrupted her suddenly as his bloodshot eyes snapped open, pushing her hand away as he exposed his mouth. "I'll do it myself."

"Awake already huh?" Naruto asked, pulling of his mask to reveal his whisker marked face and catlike blue eyes as Zabuza spat up a wad of blood.

"Damn, you two sure are rough on an old guy." Zabuza growled as he pulled Haku's needles from his neck. "Did you really have to hit me so hard Blondie?"

"Consider it payback for interrupting us." The blond said with a smirk as Haku removed her own mask. "Besides, it was like five percent of the punch, the tree got it way worse than you did."

"Considering nothing feels too much squishier than before, I'm going to believe that." He grunted. "But I'm thinking you enjoyed doing that too me a little too much."

"Oh, I enjoyed that more than you can imagine." Naruto admitted with a wolfish grin. "But at least those leaf ninja will think your insides are nothing but mush."

"They sure as hell feel like it." Zabuza sighed as he laid back down. "Looks like I'm going to be out of commission for a couple weeks."

"Eh, my guess says that bridge'll take at least another two or three months for them to complete." The blond said with a nod. "You'll have that long to become stronger that Hatake Kakashi."

"And just how strong is he?" Zabuza asked as he quirked a hairless eyebrow.

"From what I could guess, at least as strong as me, probably stronger." The other two blanched when he said that. "The good news is that his sharingan really seems to strain his chakra, pulls at least ten times what it should, even for a transplant, probably to prevent his body from rejecting it."

"I knew there was a reason I hadn't killed you in your sleep." The swordsmen grunted. "Yet."

"You forget that my sensory capabilities are at their peak while I'm sleeping, you wouldn't get within twenty meters of me without waking me up." He smirked. "No matter how well you suppressed your chakra."

"What have I told you two about arguing?" Haku asked with a resounding sigh.

They glanced at each other and shared a smirk before speaking in unison. "To do it louder and more often?"

"You knock it off or I'll make the next two weeks hell for you." She warned their mentor before turning to Naruto when he started to snicker. "And you knock it off or there will be no more late night readings."

"Eh, you're forgetting that you like those books more than I do." Naruto said with a shrug. "But I have been wanting to reacquaint myself with that beauty mark of yours."

"How the hell can you say that with such a bored face?" She asked as her own face turned beet red.

"Pft, are you kidding?" He asked, looking down at her as she finished working on Zabuza. "That's one of my more pure thoughts of you, my personal favorite is the one with the two of us alone in the alley right beside..."

"Enough." She said meekly as most of the blood in her body went directly to her face or somewhere lower. "We need to get Zabuza back to the hideout, we can pick up your perverted fantasies at some other date."

"As you wish." He shrugged, moving to the other side of Zabuza. "Beauty mark."

"I'll have you know, I'm in the perfect position to strangle you Naruto." Zabuza warned as he tightened that arm slightly.

"Yeah, but you're still too weak to." He chuckled.

"Give me a week." He growled.

Haku sighed, it was going to be a long trip.

~*~*~

Haku rested with her eyes half open in her bed while Naruto kept her pulled close to his body with his powerful arms, the sweat from their activities having long since dried and stuck them lightly together. It was still hard for her to believe how incredibly warm his body was even though they had been laying together for nearly two years, he seemed to have a permanent fever but she didn't complain about it because it kept her warm on even the coldest of nights. She glanced over to the door and saw that Naruto was still managing to keep it sealed with the gift she had given him on the night of their bonding, his ability to manipulate and control the ice was a tenth of what hers was but his stubbornness and freakish level of stamina allowed him to hold out an ice manipulation far longer than she could herself.::

She closed her eyes fully to see where everyone was in the large suspended building, his part of the bonding gift was a portion of his sensory abilities and she smiled when she though about just how sensitive he had to be. His lips pressed against the back of her neck while gently chilling the flesh beneath his lips again, even in his sleep he knew how to drive her wild. Naruto stopped suddenly and his eyes snapped open a moment before there was a knock on the door and she let out a groan of disbelief, who the hell would want to interrupt them at this hour?::

Naruto sighed as whoever was outside knocked harder and louder before he formed the unique seal, forming an ice mirror across the door and one outside as well. Haku pulled the excess blankets up around her body when her lover moved away, watching him hastily throw on his yellow and orange yukata before partially entering the mirror. She smiled and tilted her head slightly to the side to get a better view of his muscular posterior.::

"This had better be good." Naruto grunted at Gato's ronin bodyguards.

"Gato wants to see you, now." Waraji said, glaring at the slim blond with his one eye.

"You interrupted me for that?" The blond growled. "I'm getting my sword, you have until the ice melts to be at least ten meters away from this door, or I'm going to kill you."

"Gato again huh?" Haku asked as he stripped of his yukata before moving across the room to get dressed properly.

"Yeah, guess he just doesn't know how to take 'Piss off' for an answer." He nodded as he tightened the support harness for his sword onto his body. "Maybe he'll give me an excuse to kill him this time."

"I thought you hated killing people." She commented as he replaced his yukata, slipping the iron ring through the small hole in the side before covering it with his obi.

"Not as much as I hate Gato and his ilk." He grunted as he slid his sword into place before walking over and kissing her on the lips. "I'll be back."

"Damn well better, or I'll start chapter four without you." She smirked.

"I still don't see how books that dry can get you so very wet my love." He chuckled as he opened the door.

"It's the way they're read." She remarked just before the door closed behind him.

Naruto smiled briefly as he walked down the hallway before straightening his face when he felt Zouri and his partner near by. "Eleven meters, cutting it kind of close aren't you?"

"Do you really think that you can take on both of us?" The ronin in the sock hat asked before suddenly finding himself staring down the blade of his own sword.

"Guess." He said with a smirk as he flipped the sword so the handle was facing the pale man.

"Just follow us." He sighed as he returned the katana to its resting place, feeling glad he went to the bathroom before they were sent to retrieve the blond.

Naruto's face remained emotionless as he walked between the older men with his hands resting limply by his sides, a subtle glance to his left showed Waraji glaring down at him as he gripped his sword as though he was waiting for any excuse to use it. Zouri on his right was a different story however, he was one of the few people under Gato that the blond had any respect for what-so-ever, he didn't share the same blood lust as a lot of the common thugs did and he actually seemed to have a sense of honor. But that didn't mean Naruto didn't enjoy messing with his head, it was just too easy to give into the temptation. After a few moments of walking together in tense silence they finally arrived at the main room of the extensive complex where Gato was waiting for him, sipping a cup of tea, it was everything Naruto could do not to charge across the room and send the despicable little man to his own little place in hell being reserved just for him.::

"So, you've finally decided to pay me a visit Natsuo-san." Gato said, using the name he knew the blond by- he knew it wasn't the teenager's real name, but the boy simply refused to tell him what that was much to the amusement of that damn Zabuza. "Come, sit and have some tea."

"No, I'll either vomit or make an attempt on your life if I come any closer." Naruto responded bluntly. "What the hell do you want."

"As blunt as usual." The would-be tyrant remarked. "It's the usual offer, come and join me, I'll give you whatever you want... yadda yadda... rule the world shit."

"Oh when you put it like that..." Naruto said in a pleasant tone before returning to his usual irritated voice. "No."

"Think about it for once boy, with your muscle and my brain, we could do anything we wanted." Gato said as the boy started to leave. "Money, power, women, all ours for the taking."

"The only thing keeping you alive now is my self restraint Gato, don't push your luck." Naruto snarled before walking away, god how he wanted to kill that man.

*~*~*

A cheerful whistling filled the forest and Naruto walked along a well beaten path with a fishing pole over one shoulder and his sword hanging from the ring underneath his obi. His whistling stopped when he heard the sound of someone crying some distance ahead and he sped up, bracing the heavy sword at his side with one hand to keep it from bruising his legs as he moved. His geta barely made a sound as he followed the noise to the source, a young boy wearing a white and blue striped bucket hat, sitting at the edge of a pier as he cried his eyes out while mumbling something about his father. The boy didn't seem to notice the slight scraping sound of Naruto lifting his ninja-to out of it's support ring, only turning around when he heard Naruto drive it a few inches into the ground before walking onto the pier.::

"Wh-who are you?" The young brunet asked as Naruto walked over to his side.

"Me?" The blond asked, easily casting his line into the sea with a grin at the boy. "Isn't it obvious, I'm a guy trying to catch some lunch."

"That's not what I meant." He sniffed, rubbing his face in his forearm to clear away the evidence that he had been crying.

"I know." He chuckled. "My name is Akimitsu Natsuo, and you are?"

"Inari." The kid grunted.

"Nice to meet you Inari." He said, beaming down at the younger boy. "So, what were you crying about?"

"Why do you care?" Inari retorted.

"I care." Naruto shrugged. "I don't really know why, but I care about people- even complete strangers."

"You won't catch any fish here, no one ever does." The boy stated. "Not for a few years anyway."

"I guess it's time to change that then, isn't it?" Naruto stated as he snapped his arm around quickly before yanking his line out of the water, hauling up a fish larger than his forearm. "Hah-hah! Got it!"

"H-how'd you do that?" Inari asked with a look of slight awe written on his small round face.

"It's all in the technique." The blond responded, quickly striking the flopping fish to still it once and for all before handing it off to Inari. "Here, for your family. Actually, how many people do you have to feed? There are plenty of fish here."

"W-well, there's my grandpa, my mom and me most of the time." He answered, looking down at the dead fish in his hands. "But there are four ninja's staying at our home while grandpa works on the bridge. They say they're going to protect him, but Gato is just going to kill them like he does to everybody that stands up to him."

"Gato huh, I've heard of him before." Naruto stated. "Seems like he'd be a nice guy if you just hear about the legit stuff he does. A real bastard when you here about the rest of his story, I don't think even the biggest bleeding heart would shed a tear if someone killed him in his sleep."

"You're a very open person, aren't you?" Inari asked as another fish was placed in his arms.

"It depends on who I'm talking to, I'm only open to the people I like." He shrugged as he began to search out another fish in the water. "So what happened to your dad?"

Inari tensed at the question, though Naruto pretended to be to focused on fishing to notice. "He broke his promise to protect our home and died."

"Your dad's name wouldn't happen to be Kaiza would it?" Naruto asked, surprising him once again.

"Y-yeah, how did you know?" Inari asked quietly.

"I heard some people talking about him before." The blond answered honestly, yanking another fish out of the water before killing it with a quick blow and handing it off to Inari. "Sounded to me like he was a great man Inari-kun, I really wish I could have met someone like him when I was a kid."

"Huh?" The boy grunted, looking up at the teenager. "What do you mean by that?"

"I grew up as an orphan, I never knew either of my parents." He admitted, looking into Inari's eyes. "I went through a lot of crap growing up too, I remember having to eat out of the garbage more than once to keep from starving. Hell, there's not a single bone in my body that hasn't been broken at least three times."

"What happened?" Inari asked, somehow feeling ashamed of himself after hearing that.

"I ran away one night, when the villagers were trying to kill me, and I nearly ran over the man who became my teacher." He remarked, yanking up two more fish wrapped up in his line. "More importantly, I met his daughter, and fell completely and hopelessly in love with her."

"Why were they trying to kill you?" The boy asked after a sixth fish was placed in his arms. "The villagers I mean."

"I don't know, they were scared of me I guess." Naruto answered with another shrug as he hauled up a couple more fish. "Ah, that should be enough."

"Why would they be scared of you Nii-san?" He asked, not even realizing he had said the last part until after it came out. "Er, I mean, you seem like a really nice person Natsuo."

"I don't exactly qualify to be called a normal person Inari-kun." He responded as he pulled a roll of high-tension wire out a hidden pocket in his yukata, binding the fish in two groups of four to make them easier to carry. "You feeling any better?"

"A little, I guess." Inari said with a slight nod. "I'm scared though, every time I close my eyes I can see my father's face looking at me like he did before he died, and I don't want to die like that. I-I don't want to die."

"No one does Inari-kun." Naruto said, smiling at the boy as he set a calloused hand on his shoulder. "But you know, tears won't solve anything, I'm not saying that you can't be sad or scared- there is nothing wrong with feeling like that- but sometimes, you have to put your own fears aside to save what you care about even if you know you could be hurt or killed because of it."

"If you're a man, to protect something that is precious to you, no matter what happens- you must try and try even if you lose your life, to protect it with these to arms," Inari muttered to himself, remembering his father's words. "If you do that, even if you die, the proof of a man's life will remain."

"Yeah, something like that." Naruto agreed with a nod, causing the boy to start slightly when he realized he had spoken out loud. "Though, I have to say, that was kind of corny."

"Yeah, that's what dad said too." The boy sniffed as he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Well, your mother must be getting worried about you, how about I walk you home?" The blond asked when he was on his feet, offering his hand to the younger boy.

"Thanks Natsuo-san." He said with a smile as he was hoisted to his feet effortlessly.

"That's Nii-san." He chuckled as he mussed the boy's hair up with his free hand.

"Right, Natsuo-nii-san." Inari corrected with a smile.

"Yosh, let's get going before these fish start stinking!" Naruto proclaimed after replacing his sword at his hip.

"Right." The boy in the bucket hat agreed, stepping quickly to keep up with Naruto's longer strides.

"Oi, Inari." Naruto said softly a few minutes into their walk. "I probably don't have to tell you this, but you know that the people who are seen as the bravest aren't the one's who aren't scared of nothing but the ones who are scared and still do what they must right?"

"Now you're being corny." Inari stated as he looked up at the boy.

"Yeah, I guess I am." The blond shinobi chuckled, spotting a house a short way off. "That your place?"

"Yeah." He said with a nod, noticing Naruto stop and crouch down to his level. "Eh? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just have a few other things to do today- as much as I wish I could stay and meet everyone." Naruto said, raising his free hand and extending his curled little finger. "Listen, I want you to know, that no matter what, I won't let anything happen to you or your family- I promise."

Inari hesitated for a moment before he hooked his finger around Naruto's, something about the blue eyed teen made him feel safe- like he could trust him. "Thank you, Nii-san."

"You'd better get home." Naruto said, handing the bundled fish to the child before standing up. "See you around, little brother."

"Bye!" Inari called out after him before running toward his home with the fish.

Naruto sighed to himself as he looked over his shoulder after the bridge builder's grandson, he had known when he heard the boy's name who he was and that he should have just walked away then. As a shinobi he should have been able to block off his emotions and detach himself from the people around him, too bad it didn't really work that way- he could already feel a bond between himself and the boy after just the one meeting, and he knew that he would keep his promise no matter what. He calloused fingers ran across the braided hilt of his heavy weapon and he sighed again.

"Zabuza is going to kill me for this."

~*~*~

Zabuza yelped when his head cracked off of the bathroom mirror because of a sudden unexpected sneeze, causing him to mutter out a promise of suffering and death when he found out who was talking about him. The former jonin growled as he looked at his forehead in an uncracked portion of the mirror and rubbed his thumb over the point of impact, with a mental groan he realized that it was going to leave a bruise- Naruto would never let him live this one down.

*~*~*

Yuuma groaned as he looked up at the tree he was attempting to climb for training, he could barely make it over three meters up while Sasuke just kept climbing higher and higher with every attempt- Sakura had them both beaten on the first attempt, making it more than half way up effortlessly much to the boys mutual humiliation. He got to his feet with a grunt while he prepared for another attempt at climbing with his chakra, Sakura just watched her teammates in exhausted fascination- she had almost completely run out of chakra but those two just kept going and going. The kunoichi winced when he let out his longest string of curses yet when he hit the ground again after barely making an inch of headway on his tree while Sasuke took a full foot before doing a back flip down to the ground for a perfect landing.::

"Wow, you really suck at that don't you?" A masculine tenor voice asked suddenly, causing the three genin to jump and look toward the blond newcomer.

"Who the hell are you?" Yuuma demanded after quickly righting himself.

"Me? I'm Akamitsu Natsuo." The whisker marked boy said with a foxish grin. "And you are?"

"Hiraoka Yuuma." The white haired boy stated, rubbing the lump on the back of his head. "The bastard over there is Uchiha Sasuke and she's Haruno Sakura."

"Nice to meet all of you." Naruto said with a wide smile, getting only a grunt from Sasuke and a weak wave from Sakura. "Well, that was enthusiastic."

"Don't mind them." The genin said with a shrug. "So, you don't look like you're from around here."

"Oh, I'm just here trying to find some of my relatives, they moved here a few years back and I got worried when I heard what was happening here." Naruto lied easily.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Yuuma said with a nod, glancing at his weapon. "So, you're a swordsman?"

"In training." The blond nodded. "My teacher makes me carry this heavy ass thing around with me everywhere for strength training. You guys ninja?"

"I wonder what gave us away." Sasuke said sarcastically before returning to his training exercise.

."Well, he's just a regular ray of sunshine." Naruto grunted after a glance in the other boy's direction, leaning closer to Yuuma's ear to whisper to him. "You want some advice?"

"Sure, but I'm not sure if it'll help." Yuuma said with a shrug.

"I noticed earlier that you held your breath as soon as you set foot on the tree, I know swordsmanship and ninjutsu are two different martial arts- but in my experience, you always need to stay in control or your breathing no matter what you're doing." Naruto said quietly, getting a paranoid look from the Uchiha. "It'll probably be a bit difficult at first, but try keeping your breath at a slow pace like you're walking up a hill- that should make you exercise a bit easier."

"Anything else?" He asked.

"Well, it probably wouldn't hurt if you kept your mind focused on what you're doing rather than on a competition with Teme over there." He said with a nod. "If you really want to drive him nuts, don't tell him what I've told you- he's already looking like you're plotting against him."

"Ooh, you're evil." Hiraoka said with a grin.

"Guilty as charged." He smirked before the boy went to try climbing again.

Sasuke watched quietly as Yuuma stood in front of his tree with his hands clasped in a basic seal to aid his chakra flow while he took a deep breath and exhaled as he focused the energy to his feet, a small circular cloud of dust marked the start of the expulsion. Yuuma remained still while he concentrated almost solely on his breathing, feeling his bodily energy start to adjust to the measured pull of his breath until he was confident enough to move. Naruto smirked again when the white haired boy set foot to the thick trunk of the tree and set off running, more than doubling his personal best in the first try and nearly matching Sasuke's highest mark before he lost his concentration and dropped back to the ground, leaving Sasuke gaping like an idiot at the dramatic improval- at least until he realized what he was doing, quickly switching to glaring instead.::

"Holy crap! It worked!" Yuuma exclaimed, looking up at his new record. "It really worked! I can't believe it!"

"You're surprised?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow at the boy just as he felt Haku's chakra in the area- no doubt collecting herbs for Zabuza's medicine.

"Well, kind of." The boy said, looking around Naruto when he saw someone. "Who's that?"

"So this is where you got off to." A dark haired young woman said as she walked over to Naruto.

"Ah, Harue-chan, I guess I'm busted huh?" Naruto said to Haku with a sheepish grin, using the alias she had chosen for public used during the mission.

"Very much so." She said, nudging him gently. "Father is getting worried."

"By worried, you mean angry?" He asked.

"Oh yes." Haku nodded, finally seeming to notice the Leaf genin who were staring at her. "Oh, hello."

"H-hi." Yuuma stammered, nearly straining himself to keep his eyes focused on her face.

Sakura sighed and walked over to her teammate to wave her hand in front of his face. "I think you broke him."

"Hit him in the head, that usually reboots his brain." Sasuke suggested as he joined his teammates.

"Well, we'd better get going before sensei has me running laps around the forest with him on my back." Naruto said as he started to move away with Haku. "Good luck with your training."

"Yeah, thanks." Sakura said as she watched them walk away, leaving her with a slight feeling of jealousy of Haku that she took out on her teammate- hitting him hard enough in the back of the head to knock him to the ground with a shout of. "Snap out of it dumbass!"

"You know, you're going to give me brain damage if you keep doing that." Yuuma commented. "Seriously, just because a girl is prettier than you doesn't mean you can take it out on me."

"What did you say?" Sakura growled as Sasuke took a step back with an unusually meek 'Uh-oh'.

"I said you shouldn't take it out on me every time you get jealous of some pretty girl." The white haired genin stated, seemingly oblivious to the world of pain that would soon be his.

Off in the distance Naruto flinched when Yuuma's pained cries reached his ears while Haku simply looked back in the direction they and the sounds had just come from, trying to imagine what Sakura could be doing to be boy to hurt him so badly. It hadn't taken them long to put nearly half a kilometer between themselves and the leaf genin after they were out of sight, which took less time than normal thanks to Hiraoka Yuuma insulting the pink haired kunoichi. Naruto's face smoothed out a moment after the shouts faded away and he turned back to face Haku, wondering what she was thinking beneath that gently passive expression she wore.::

"Naruto, what were you doing?" She asked quietly. "Those people are our enemy, why did you show yourself to them so openly?"

"You know my answer Haku-chan, we're on the wrong side- nothing good will come from siding with that slimy bastard." He sighed. "He's going to betray us, I just know it."

"Yeah, he'll probably try pretty soon." She confirmed with a nod. "He tried to push Zabuza around while he was resting this morning, I broke his arm- partly so Zabuza wouldn't kill him before he paid us- and I have to tell you, I really liked it."

"Hmm, I knew there was I reason I fell in love with you." He purred as he pushed her up against the nearest tree to plant a kiss on the end of her nose. "You know, we're all alone out here- with no one close enough to interrupt us should we..."

Haku cut him off by wrapping her arms around his neck and forcefully kissing him. "Are you going to stand there talking, or are you going to help me out of this kimono?"

* * *

**A/N: My second work posted on FanFiction, something I've been working on off and on for a few months. Some of the ideas are borrowed from other stories that I've read before (particularly the bonding gift thing, I saw that in another story of AFF- though for the life of me I cannot remember which one, if the author of that NaruHina story is reading this, I thank you for the inspiration even if I cannot remember who you are) Anyway, this is my personal take on the 'What if Naruto had been raised by Zabuza?' scenario, actually, I've never seen this particular type of story on any of the fan fiction sights I visit- granted I haven't really looked for it too heavily because I kind of want to go into this plot with a virgin mind so to speak. Anyway, I hope you all have enjoyed the story, please let me know if I have missed any grammatical errors that you notice- they tend to slip by me a lot because I don't use a Beta- though I do try to catch as many as I can. Also, I won't be able to update this story or Elements of a Maelstrom for a while, I'm going to have a lot of studying to do. So please don't bother wasting your time with comments requesting a fast update, I will not be able to do it. Thank you for your time, 24CC.**


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Alright, here is chapter two- sorry for the long wait. It's been done for a while, but I just wasn't really sure if it was ready to be posted, I gave it a quick once over to look for any major spelling errors that I may have missed the first couple times, but there are probably a few more hiding in there somewhere (if you find them, please let me know in a review. like 'You misspelled the word *Scuh* and it should be *Such* or something along those lines*) Also, I'd like to thank all (four) of my reviewers so far for all of the nice things they've had to say. So, Metaking22, Ojiushadow, Blood Brandy and LITTLE ALEXANDER UZUMAKI, thank you very much. Blood Brandy, there will be flashbacks to the Naruto/Haku origins thing laced throughout the stories either as dreams or as flashbacks when he talks with people about it. And Ojiushadow. You'll understand why I haven't put it as naruto and Haku after you read this chapter.

Again, sorry about the long wait for this chapter, I'm not sure when chapter three will be up, it's about half way done as I post this.

* * *

=2=

Hatake Kakashi listened quietly to his student's talk of the strange blond swordsman-in-training that had walked up on them during their training, even going so far as to advise one of his students on how to perform the chakra control exercise easier. He had been especially surprised to learn that Inari had met the same boy before, giving the name Akamitsu Natsuo when he heard the description Sasuke gave- apparently it was the same young man who had caught all of the fish they were eating for dinner dinner before walking Tazuna's grandson home. It struck the highly trained felt it odd that the man would give two obviously different stories to four different children residing the the same house, and that description of him sounded disturbingly familiar.::

"Hey, sensei, is something wrong?" Yuuma questioned after another large bite of fish.

"Yes, I believe there is." Kakashi answered, getting the full attention of his students and the other occupants of the table. "I believe that this Natsuo may work for Zabuza."

"What? Why would you think that?" Sakura questioned.

"If you remember, Zabuza has two accomplices, and it really isn't difficult for a trained shinobi to create a convincing disguise." The jounin pointed out simply.

"Yes, but why would our enemy disguise himself and approach us so openly?" Sasuke asked contemplatively. "I mean, he had the perfect opportunity to kill us, while we were all too tired from training to fight back, but he didn't take it. He actually offered Yuuma assistance in his training."

"Yeah, why would he do that?" Yuuma asked, glancing from his teammate back to his teacher. "And why would he use the same disguise to help Inari catch us dinner and walk him home safely?"

"It really doesn't make any sense." Sakura pointed out with a nod. "Telling Inari he's an orphan and then telling us he's here looking for relatives, what's the point? Is he just trying to confuse us?"

"No, I don't think that's the point at all." Kakashi said after a moment of thought. "What strikes me as odd is that I was at the house just before Inari got back, and that I arrived where I had you training less than a minute after this young man left."

"That could just be a coincidence sensei." The rosette kunoichi spoke up again.

"I don't think it is, when the boy with Zabuza said my name, I figured he knew it through the bingo book like Zazbua did." The jounin pointed out. "After hearing the way you described Natsuo, I think I may actually know him."

"Say what now?" The white-haired genin asked, giving Kakashi a skeptical look.

"I mean, after hearing what Inari said about the boy's story, and the way all four of you described him, I think I know who he really is." Kakashi stated. "Several years ago, I was assigned to look after a young boy in Konoha while he grew up. I was called away for a high-profile mission shortly after he was entered into the academy. While I was gone, something happened and he was driven out of the village, I thought he had been killed but I never found any evidence either way."

"Wait, you think he's from Konoha?" Yuuma asked after sharing looks with his other teammates.

"His name was Uzumaki Naruto, and I suspect from your description, that Naruto and Natsuo are the same person." He said with a sigh. _'Seven years with Zabuza, there's no telling what he's capable of now.'_

"Sensei, are you alright?" Tsunami asked quietly.

"Yes, I'm fine Tsunami-san." He lied to the woman with a smile.

"If this guy is from Konoha, why would the villagers have driven him away?" Sakura asked after a moment of silence. "Was he dangerous or something?"

"No, Naruto never hurt anyone, but people were afraid of him for something he had no control over." Her teacher answered with a shake of his head. "Unfortunately, people do extremely stupid things when they're afraid. If Naruto is working for Zabuza however, we will need to be exceptionally careful, there is no telling how strong he has gotten after studying under the Demon of the hidden mist for seven years. It is quiet possible that he is the most dangerous of all three of our foes."

"What's so dangerous about him?" Sasuke asked.

"When I knew him, Naruto never got tired, no matter how hard I would try- I could never wear him out." Kakashi explained. "I'm not saying this as a cutesy little explanation of how I knew him, if he has retained his energy from when he was younger- and I'm certain he has- there will be almost no way to wear him down in a prolonged battle. Zabuza has undoubtedly taught him swordsmanship, so it would be inadvisable to fight him at close range, he was strong for a child, and he's probably gotten stronger with training. All in all, and there are several things I cannot tell you about him, Naruto is quiet possibly the most terrifying adversary you will ever face."

"Why can't you tell us, I mean, if he's our enemy- won't we need to know?" Sakura asked.

"I said I suspect they are the same person Sakura, not that they are the same." He pointed out quickly. "If they aren't the same, I would prefer to let Naruto's secrets remain his own. If they are the same person- I will not let you fight against him."

"Why not?!" Yuuma demanded.

"Because, it is likely he's nearly on my level by now, sending you up against him would be like signing your death warrants." The copy-ninja stated in a tone that made his three students swallow.

~*~*~

"Naruto, are you sure you're not catching a cold?" Haku asked after Naruto's sudden sneezing fit came to an end.

"If I had ever gotten sick before I might think I was." The blond sniffed before settling back down under the covers. "Maybe I've just developed allergy's or something."

"Zabuza believes that superstition that people talking about you will make you sneeze." She pointed out as he pulled her closer. "Maybe that's it."

"Could be." He said, kissing her bare shoulder gently. "Now I believe we were basking in the afterglow before that little interruption."

"We were, but my afterglow has faded." She said, feeling him suddenly pull away from her. "Naruto, what are you doing?"

"Guess." He ordered softly with his brightest foxy smile before disappearing under the covers.

*~*~*

Zabuza and his subordinates stood near the exit in Gato's meeting room armed and ready to move out at a word, it had been over a month since Zabuza's defeat at the hand's of Naruto's ex-caretaker Hatake 'Sharingan' Kakashi and he was itching for a rematch with the silver haired cyclopean scarecrow. Naruto stood at Zabuza's left, closest to the exit and farthest from Gato to keep himself as far away from the detestable little man as he could get while Haku stood to Zabuza's right, a little closer to the tiny tyrant, but not much. All three were tired of hearing the self-important windbag go on about how they had failed him in the past and how it would be in their best interest not to do so again, finally he annoyed the Demon of the Bloody Mist enough that he was told where to stuff it before the three shinobi left.::

As they walked out of the suspended wooden fortress, Zabuza explained his plans for dealing with Hatake and his students on the bridge, and quickly got annoyed with Naruto when he walked off saying that the two of them were more then enough to handle Kakashi and his fresh from the academy genin squad- Uchiha or no. When questioned about the blond's actions, Haku just laughed and shrugged before stating that she was his wife, not his babysitter- much to the furtherance of her mentor's irritation. The blond in question was making his way through the forest in his earth toned battle-kimono quickly by jumping from tree to tree until he reached his destination, the end of the forest near to Tazuna's home- something in his gut told him this was where he needed to be.::

With his weapon hidden away from all but the luckiest of prying eyes, Naruto made his way to one of the higher branches in the trees and concealed himself accordingly near to the trunk. His chakra was suppressed and blended to match with the natural energies surrounding him long before Kakashi and his dependents ever stepped out the front door with Tazuna in front on their way to the bridge. Though the desire to send killer intent the jounin was great in him, Naruto repressed the urge as the five people passed him by, blissfully unaware of his presence as he wanted them to be. As interesting as the thought was, Naruto wasn't quiet ready to find out if he was at Kakashi's level of skill yet, he hated the man with a fiery passion for abandoning him but he wasn't stupid enough to think he could take on the man in a four- possibly- five on one fight, even if the other four combatants were three rookies and an old man- Hatake would be more than just a handful all by himself.

Naruto scowled when his suspicions about Gato seemed to be proving themselves correct a little less than an hour after Tazuna and his guard had left, when Zori and Waraji came out of the woods along by the main road with Tazuna's house seeming to be their destination. He let out a low growl when the two burst in on Tsunami and her son, releasing the concealment technique as he dropped down to the ground and retrieved his weapon. His chakra sense expanded outward slowly as he tracked the two rounin through the small shack while he waited impatiently in the bushes, he knew charging in would only increase the chances that Inari or his mother would get hurt. He swallowed as the special excitement he always felt before fights of any size sent a chill down his spine when the two hired thugs came out with the dark haired woman that could only be Tsunami walking between them, Waraji whispered something that made her shiver though he couldn't hear out what it was from the distance.::

"WAIT!" Inari shouted as he ran out of the house, his cheeks slightly reddened from recent tears.

"Inari!" His mother said in a panicked tone.

"It's that kid." Waraji muttered as soon as he saw the boy.

"Get... Get away from my mom!" He shouted nervously.

"Geez, what a stupid kid." Zori muttered as both he and his partner reached for their weapons when Inari charged them with a determined cry.

"Cut him?" The scarred man asked with a wicked smile.

"Yeah." He sighed, planting his feet properly as both of them struck out when he was close enough- blinking when the sliced up boy turned into a sliced up log. "What the hell? A replacement?"

"Sorry for being late. Are you okay, little brother?" Naruto asked as he set both mother and child down safely on the dock.

"N-Nii-san!" Inari cried happily at the sight of the blond. "B-but what are you doing here, Kakashi-sensei said that you work for Zabuza."

"Yeah, I work for Zabuza." The blond said, setting a comforting hand on the boy's head as he stood and faced the ronin. "But I promised to protect you, remember? And I always keep my promises."

"Natsuo! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Zori demaded as soon as he got a good look at the young man's face. "Gato isn't paying you to protect this people."

"No, he's not, but he never should have sent you to kidnap Tazuna's daughter." The blond stated plainly as his hand came to rest of the sheath of his sword. "Zori, Waraji, it's your unlucky day. You should just surrender before I have to hurt you."

"No way in hell Akamitsu, I've been looking forward to putting you in your place, for far too long." Waraji snarled as he and Zori redrew their weapons. "Time to die, pretty boy!"

"They never learn." Naruto sighed, loosening his sword before he disappeared.

"What the hell?!" The tattooed swordsman demanded when the majority of his blade fell to the wooden walkway.

"I warned you both," The blond sighed as he replaced his weapon with a loud click, letting the two now virtually unarmed men turn around to face him. "You have never stood a chance against me from the start."

"You little shit! I don't need..." Waraji started to shout at him before both men were dropped to their knees by punches that drove the breath from their lungs with enough force to put them both out like a pair of lights.

"Inari, you did a great job today." Naruto said as he walked between the unconscious men. "You bought me enough time to get your mom away safely. Speaking of, Tsunami-san, how are you feeling."

"F-fine, what are you going to do to us?" The grown woman asked nervously as she looked into his abnormal blue eyes.

"Well, I'm going to untie you first of all, and then I'm going to tie those to idiots up." He stated before moving behind her and undoing all of the knots. "After that, I'm going to leave them in your custody while I go stop all of this idiocy surrounding your father building the bridge."

"What do you mean, you work for Gato don't you?" She swallowed as he walked toward the unconscious men.

"Nope, Gato hired Zabuza for a job, I work for Zabuza- and Gato betrayed us by sending men after you and your son." He stated as he bound both men's hands and feet tightly with wire before joining them firmly at the waist with the same rope they had used on Tsunami. "Even Gato doesn't kidnap people without a reason. He was probably going to use you as a bargaining chip after he killed the three of us."

"I-I see." She said nervously as she stood. "S-so, what's your name. Your real name."

"Uzumaki Naruto." He said with a smile, suddenly cringing at a sharp pain in his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Inari asked when he saw the pained look.

"Haku." He whispered, removing his sword and letting it crash through the wooden planks of the walkway as he disappeared even faster than before.

~*~*~

"What's going on?" Tazuna whispered as soon as he saw the condition of his workers when they arrived at the bridge, running over to help one of the moving ones sit up carefully. "What happened?"

"A-a monster." The bleeding man answered weakly.

'Can it be?' Kakashi wondered quietly as he looked around, noticing a thick mist starting to form. "Here they come!" He barked as he and his three students surrounded Tazuna with weapons drawn. 'So, he really is alive.'

"Kakashi-sensei, this is the Obscuring Mist Technique right?" Sakura asked nervously as the unnatural mist became even thicker and Sasuke began to tremble.

"Long time no see, Kakashi." Zabuza's chuckle filled the miasmal air. "And I see you still have those brats with you. The boys are shaking again, poor kids."

"We're shaking from excitement." Sasuke remarked as ten perfect copies of Zabuza and his massive cleaver surrounded them suddenly.

"Do it." Kakashi ordered with a smile before the two males went into action, each dispersing half of the clones before returning to the other's former position in the blink of an eye.

"You can't fool us." Yuuma stated with a belligerent smirk.

"They saw through the water clones." The real Zabuza remarked to Haku at his side, though he did so loudly enough to he heard by Kakashi and his genin. "They've grown. It looks like you have a couple rivals now, eh, Haku?"

"It does indeed." She answered responded with a slight nod.

"It seems like my thinking was right on the mark." Kakashi stated. "That masked one seems to be Zabuza's comrade."

"She should stop hiding under that mask and face us!" Yuuma and Sakura shouted at the same time.

"I'll fight her." Sasuke growled, glaring at Haku. "Tricking us with that stupid act, I hate bastards like that the most.

"You're so cool, Saskue-kun!" Sakura squealed, causing both Yuuma and Kakashi to think she was far too hung up on him.

"Tell me, Zabuza, where is Naruto?" The jonin asked, ignoring the commentary from his subordinates.

"Oh? You know him?" Zabuza asked.

"So, it is him." Kakashi sighed. "After all these years."

"Wait, are you the one who was supposed to be his caretaker?" Haku asked.

"Yes, I was his caretaker before he disappeared." Kakashi nodded.

"You should watch out for him if he does come then Hatake, because he hates you." Zabuza laughed openly. "He hates you almost as much as he hates Gato."

"Enough of this!" Sasuke snapped, taking a step forward with his kunai grasped firmly.

"Take care of him." The short haired swordsman ordered, watching as his subordinate, his weapon, charged forward to intercept the boy before he got too far while Kakashi pushed Tazuna and his students back.

"Yuuma, Sakura, stay close to Tazuna-san." Kakashi ordered as soon as they were a safe distance away from the current battle. "Don't leave my side, we'll let Sasuke handle her."

"I don't want to have to kill you." Haku stated after Sasuke had successfully defended against some of her attacks. "But you won't stand down, will you?"

"Don't be foolish." He stated, smirking at the tone of her question.

"I see." She sighed. "But you won't be able to keep up with my speed next time. Plus, I have already gained two advantages over you."

"Two?" He asked with a glare.

"First, we are surrounded by water, and the second is that I have occupied one of your arms." She pointed out as he brought up her free hand. "You will now only be able to run from my attacks."

'What the hell?' Sasuke wondered as she started going through a series of one handed seals.

'Secret technique: Flying Water Needles.' Haku thought quietly as a multitude of floating needles began to form out of the water on the ground and in the air around them, watching Sasuke momentarily close his eyes in concentration.

"Sasuke-kun!" The rosette kunoichi cried out as soon as the icy spikes came crashing down on him while Haku jumped out of the way of her own attack. "He's gone?"

"Impressive." Haku murmured as she dodged back from the aerial assault the boy launched at her.

"You're pretty slow." Sasuke remarked from behind as she dodged his last shurkien before adding smuggly. "From now on, you will only be able to run from my attacks."

Haku said nothing as she intercepted the his backhanded strike before ducking underneath the kunai he flicked at her with his other hand.

_'He's fast.'_ She thought as his foot flew toward her masked face.

_'Hmm, looks like we underestimated the Uchiha a bit.'_ Zabuza thought bitterly as Haku came to a stop near his feet.

"I can't have you underestimate my team by calling them 'brats' Zabuza, Sasuke is the Hidden Leaf's number one rookie." Kakashi spoke up about his students. "Sakura is one of the brightest in the village. And Yuuma is physically the toughest of this years graduates." He stated as Yuuma jumped over to Sasuke's side to give him a wide grin, getting only a grunt for his efforts.

"Heh. Haku, do you realize at this rate we'll be driven back?" Zabuza asked with a chuckle as Haku stood back up.

"Yeah, we can't have that." Haku responded, releasing chakra as she activated her bloodline. "My dear husband would never let us live it down."

_'What's this chill?'_ Sasuke wondered quietly as Haku formed a single, odd hand sign before the water around him and his white haired teammate suddenly began to rise up and form into thin, reflective sheets of ice.

"What the hell?!" Yuuma demanded as they were surrounded by a dome of icy reflectors.

"Secret Technique: Demonic Ice Mirrors." Haku said aloud, purely for the benefit of the two trapped genin before she stepped into the mirror directly in front of her.

"Damn it!" Kakashi swore when he realized the danger his students were in, charing toward the dome momentarily before Zabuza intercepted him.

"Hey, you're opponent is me." Zabuza said harshly. "Besides, against that technique, they're finished."

_'Well, isn't this just wonderful?'_ Kakashi thought with a bitter sigh.

"Shall I begin?" Haku asked the two trapped boys softly as they were surrounded by a host of her reflections.

_'What are all these mirrors?'_ Sasuke wondered as he and his teammate circled around with their backs together.

"Now, I'll show you my real speed." The young woman remarked.

Each of Haku's many reflections held up a single senbon for them both to see before something slashed Sasuke across the arm, easily tearing through his sleeve and leaving a thin trail of blood on across his skin. Yuuma let out a hiss as the same thing happened to him and both boys shared a nervous look after the invisible attacks. Both boy's let out pained screams when they were suddenly attacked from all sides as a feeling of extreme pain threatened to overwhelm all of their other senses.::

"Yuuma, Sasuke!" Kakashi shouted, starting to take a step forward.

"If you get by me, I'll kill those two." Zabuza stated, stopping him in his tracks.

"Damn." He growled as his female student called out her teammates names as they both continued to cry out as they were cut up by countless tiny attacks.

"Tazuna-san, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to leave you for a moment." Sakura said in a serious tone.

"Yeah, go." Tazuna said with a nod before the girl charged at the icy dome, drawing a pair of kunai from the holster on her thigh.

"Yuuma! Sasuke-kun!" She called out, leaping into the air and throwing the weapons to her teammates, watching Haku lean out of a mirror to grab both weapons by passing her fingers through the rings. _'Sh-she caught them.'_

The sound of metal ringing out against metal brought Saukra's attention behind her where she saw her kunai and several needles fall to the ground after blocking some shuriken Zabuza had thrown at her turned back.::

"Haku, what is this?" Zabuza asked in a menacing tone.

"Zabuza-san, please, let me fight these kids my way." Haku said as Sakura moved back toward Tazuna before Zabuza could try anything else against her.

"So, you don't want me to interfere." He said with a sigh. "You're as soft as always Haku, even without the brat around."

_'Soft?'_ Sasuke wondered as he and Yuuma began to inspect their injuries, which turned out to be scratches for the most part. _'She's attack with needles, but not aiming for anywhere vital. And what's with this jutsu?'_ He thought as he started to look at the dome. _'Does she have clones hiding in the mirrors? No, it's to fast for anything like that, I can't even see where the attacks are coming from. What the hell are these damn mirrors for?'_

"How are you holding up, Sasuke?" Yuuma asked as he shifted his body to stretch subtly during their reprieve.

"I'm alive, she hasn't gone for anything vital yet." The Uchiha stated, glancing over and seent that some of the smaller scratches on Yuuma were already starting to heal up. "What about you?"

"Nothing I can't handle yet, but I don't want to waste my chakra healing these chicken scratches." He growled.

_'Things just keep going from bad to worse, at least Naruto hasn't arrived yet.'_ Kakashi though quite sourly as he stared down Zabuza while trying to think up a plan to save his students. _'I can't go to them or I'll leave Tazuna open, but I can't just leave them like that. If I use Shadow Clones, he'll just counter with Water Cones and I'll be out that much chakra. I hate situations like this so very, very much.'_

'Alright, there's the real one.' Sasuke confirmed mentally as Haku sank back into her mirror fully.

"Over here." Her soft voice said, calling his attention to the mirror straight behind him.

_'She moved.'_ He growled mentally as both he and Yuuma turned to face her. _'No matter, if these mirrors are made of ice, then I'll just break them.'_ His hands flashed through the proper seals and he took a deep breath before releasing a massive ball of fire at her mirrors.

"I-it barely did anything." Yuuma pointed out with a slight twitch as the flamed faded away to reveal the mirrors unharmed, save for a tiny bit of rapidly refreezing rim frost that had been melted by the flames.

"As impressive as that looked. You can't melt this ice with that level of fire." Haku stated blandly.

"Damn it." Sasuke spat before Haku started her attack again, just for a moment he swore he saw something.

"Where the hell is the real one?!" Yuuma bellowed while standing up as soon as the attack ended.

"Try as hard as you like, but it's impossible to follow me with your eyes." Haku responded calmly. "You will never be able to catch me."

"Then I'll find the real one by crushing all these damn mirrors!" He shouted as he charged the nearest one, suddenly finding both himself and Sasuke being torn up again before he even took his second step.

"This technique uses the mirror's reflection to transport me instantly." Haku explained to the trapped boys as soon as the attack stopped. "From my point of view, you seem to be moving in slow-motion."

"For a kid to master a technique like that so you." Kakashi muttered in awe of hearing Haku's statement.

"Technique like what?" Sakura asked as Zabuza chuckled again.

"A bloodline limit." He answered. "Superior genealogy, it passes a jutsu down from one generation to the next."

"Then..." She started slowly, a nervous edge creeping into her voice.

"Yeah, you can compare it to my Sharingan." He nodded. "But even I can't copy that technique."

"You think you're the only one with a bloodline?!" Yuuma demanded as he stood back up as all of his wounds began to heal rapidly. "Surprise you masked freak! There's nothing you can throw at me that I can't heal!"

"You're even louder than Naruto is." Haku sighed as she pulled out a few more needles.

~*~*~

'Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming- Gah! I'm going to kill the bastard who got this song stuck in my head!' Gato roared mentally while making his way through the lower deck of his barge. "What the hell is taking so long?!" He demanded as he walked onto the bridge of his ship.

"Sorry sir, we have to go kind of slowly in this mist." One of the crewmen answered. "And you told us that you didn't want to make too much noise so we're having to travel without the engines for the last part of the ride."

"Whatever, just get us there quickly. The men are getting antsy." The pint-sized dictator-to-be growled at him, looking up at the massive bridge looming a short distance ahead. "Is the fog getting thicker up there?"

"I-I think it is, sir." The man answered, lifting the pair of binoculars that were hanging around his neck up to his eyes. "Wow, it's incredible, you can't even see through it. I wonder what's causing it."

"Probably that bastard Zabuza again." Gato growled. "Get us to the bridge as quick as you can, but keep quiet about it, no need to alert that sword-wielding bastard that we're coming for him and his two little bitches."

*~*~*

Naruto gritted his teeth and growled in determination as he ran down the dirt road to the bridge, he was lighter and faster without his sword to weigh him down, but it was still a good distance to the bridge from Tazuna's home. When he saw Zabuza's impenetrable mist on the far side of the bridge, Naruto knew that Kakashi was trying to use his implanted Sharingan, it didn't take a genius to figure it out if they knew of Haku's trump card over the copy wheel eye. He stopped for a moment and closed his eyes for expand the range of his chakra sense as far as it could go. The Uchiha and the other boy were down for the count, the pink haired girl was near Tazuna and Kakashi was squared off against Zabuza- but his chakra signature was being concentrated to one singular point like a beacon. His eyes widened when he felt Haku putting herself in the way as the one eyed man charged, instinctively his hands were up to his chin and forming the proper seal.::

A single mirror of ice formed in front of him and he could feel one form on the bridge meters shy of where he needed it, as he sank into the reflective surface he felt the usual chill pass over him along with another deeper on inside him- he knew this might very well be the ultimate test of his speed. The world seemed to slow to less than a snail's crawl as he catapulted out of one mirror toward the other, giving him more than enough time to look around and take in his surroundings as he passed them, more than enough time to suffer the anticipation and dread of knowing his wife's imminent danger and not knowing if he would make it in time. Kakashi was almost to his destination by the time Naruto exploded from his second mirror in a dead sprint with sense wide open to guide him through the impenetrable haze. His had pushed against the Jounin's arm as he opened his blue eyes, just in time to see his lover getting lanced through the lung rather than the heart because of his inteference.::

"No!" He screamed, batting the taller man away with a powerful backhand and tearing his arm out of Haku's chest. "Haku."

"Naruto." She coughed as the pink haired girl guarding Tazuna squawked indignantly at getting bowled over by her teacher.

"H-Haku, just hold on, I can fix this." He offered weakly. "I can transfer my regenerative abilities to you, j-just hold on."

"Brat, don't make her suffer just..." Zabuza started to say, reaching down to touch him on the shoulder before finding himself being thrown into the recovering teacher and student.

"Shut up!"He snarled at the man before leaning over Haku again.

"Naruto." Haku coughed before whispering into his ear. "You love me, don't you?"

"Of course I do." He nodded, leaning closer to his neck as he bared his fang-like canines.

"Then forgive me." She whispered, sinking her own teeth into muscled shoulder first.

"No, please, no." He whispered as a chill he felt once before spread through his body, becoming progressively stronger as she transferred the rest of her bloodline over to him.

"S-sorry." Haku whispered as the life faded from her eyes.

"No, don't leave me." He pleaded, pulling her cooling body against him in a tight hug.

"Oh how touching." A bitter voice said from the very end of the bridge as the mist cleared away. "Two starcrossed lovers torn apart by violent death."

"Gato." The blond snarled, recognizing the voice as he looked up at the short man. "This is your fault, you bastard!"

"Don't blame me if that stupid bitch of yours wasn't smart enough to stay alive." Gato scorned. "You know, honestly, I'm disappointed that both you and that piece of shit Zabuza are still alive. So you know what, I'm going to kill you both."

"What?" Zabuza snarled, getting off of Kakashi and Sakura.

"Missing ninja's like you two are too damn expensive to maintain, so to keep things cheap, I hire people like the guys behind me to finish you little bastards off." The short man stated. "But they can get pretty expensive too, so kill off as many of them as you can before you die please."

"Gato, do you remember what I told you about my name the first time we met?" Naruto's voice was a deeper snarl than before as he stood up.

"Yeah, you told me if I ever found out what it was, you'd kill me." The tyrannical business man said with a smirk that faded as a red aura began to seep from the blond along with a feeling of pure malice.

"My name..." He snarled, standing up and lifting Zabuza's lost weapon as the whisker marks on his cheeks deepened to give him a more feral look. "Is Uzumaki Naruto!" Power erupted from him like water from a bursting dam and the malevolent chakra momentarily formed a sneering fox head above him. "I hope your bags are packed you bastard, because I'm sending you straight to hell!"

"Shit, Gato's really done it."Zabuza shuddered as his apprentice stepped forward while Gato retreated behind his hire thugs.

"W-what the hell is this feeling?" A trembling Sakura asked, unable to take her eyes off the blond.

"Terrifying, isn't it?" The injured swordsman asked rhetorically as Naruto cleaved his way through the mob in his path, ignoring the weapons that pierced his body as he carved a bloody swath through the mercenaries. "This is his true power, like this, there is nothing that can stop him. He is power incarnate, a true living weapon."

"Y-you have no idea what gives him such terrible power, do you Zabuza?" Kakashi asked as he watched on with morbid fascination.

"Nope, he does, and Haku did, but they never told me." He answered.

"Is that all you've got, Gato?!" Naruto shouted as he drove the head of the massive sword into the chest of the last surviving thug before abandoning it in favor of removing the weapons that were still inside of him from the fight.

"W-what the hell are you." Gato asked, looking around for any possible exit as his panic continued to rise.

"Me? I'm the monster that never had to be. I am the husband of the wife you murdered with your greed." He snarled, narrowing his now red eyes. "And, now that there is nothing left standing between us. I am going to kill you for what you've done."

"O-oh god, no, please, no." He begged when the blond began to move closer as frozen vapor began to rise of the blond's clawed hand. "I-I'll give you anything, just please, don't kill me!"

"The only thing that could have save you from me is dead, thanks to you and your heart of ice." Naruto snarled, driving his claws into Gato's chest to let his power seeped inside. "I think that's a suitable way to die for you, having your heart turned to ice."

"Hn, he hates to kill people normally, but when he gets like this, he's as sadistic as they come." Zabuza remarked over Gato's short death screech.

_'What did you do to him, Sensei?'_ Kakashi wondered as Naruto kicked the now frozen Gato off the bridge into the water far below before the malevolent power started to fade away. "I never should have accepted that mission."

"Probably not." The missing-nin agreed as he looked down at the silver-haired man. "Actually, now that I think about it. With Gato dead, I'm not being paid to go after the geezer. Heh, all this trouble for nothing."

"A-aren't you even sad? Haku's dead." Sakura pointed out.

"Kid, of course I'm sad. Even if it doesn't seem like it." He sighed, turning to face the girl. "Shinobi aren't supposed to let our emotions show, hell, ideally we aren't supposed to have them at all."

"That's pretty cold." Tazuna remarked at the thought.

"It's how our world works, Tazuna-san." Kakashi said quietly. "Shinobi are supposed to be emotionless and calculating killers when it comes down to the bottom line. Emotions get in our way, they can make us hesitate when we need to act."

"Even still, we can never fully get rid of our emotions." Zabuza picked up again after a moment of relative silence. "I came pretty close once, but I was never able to completely kill my heart. I picked up both Haku and Naruto out of pity really, she was half starved and he was half-dead from being beaten. Both had incredible power, and that's how I convinced myself at first, I just did it for their power. But over time, Haku became like my daughter, and Naruto became that son-in-law I never wanted but got stuck with anyway."

* * *

A/N 2: Well, there you have it, chapter 2. I feel horrible about doing that to Haku, but, unfortunately, it's part of the plot. *sniffles slightly*. You know, for the life of me, I cannot remember who I got that bonding gifts idea from. I know it was a NarutoxHinata story where he ended up getting the Byakuugan from her, but I cannot remember the story name. Which sucks because it was a good story and I can't keep reading it because I don't remember. Anyway, I'm going to open up a poll about what Hinata's personality should be like when I finally get around to introducing her. (Won't be for a couple chapters though, chapter three is still set in the Wave Country for the moment.) For those wondering, this chapter is 6197 words long not counting the authors notes like this one. Anyway, that's it for this chapter, so please read and review, tell me what you think, good bad or the thing with the drool monkeys and the brains and the rabies- oh the pain. Later folks.

24CC


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